He's just dynamic, and he's willing to take people on. He's responsible defensively as well. He just brings energy. I love to see him play because he's aggressive in his mind, but responsible defensively as well. – Jeff Cassar
SANDY — The sample size is still quite small, but Jordan Allen continued his emergence Wednesday night as one of the most exciting young players in MLS.
In fact, prior to Nick Rimando’s clutch penalty save in stoppage time, Allen’s creativity and confidence against the L.A. Galaxy was the bright spot in another scoreless draw for Real Salt Lake.
U.S. Under-20 National Team coach Tab Ramos has taken notice of Allen’s promising start to the 2015 season. On Thursday, Allen was officially named to the U.S. Under-20 squad that will participate in the World Cup in New Zealand later this month.
Allen found out earlier in the week that he’d been named to the squad, and against the Galaxy he seemed on a mission to prove Ramos right.
Nobody inside RSL's locker room is surprised by Allen’s strong start.
"He's just dynamic, and he's willing to take people on. He's responsible defensively as well. He just brings energy. I love to see him play because he's aggressive in his mind, but responsible defensively as well,” said RSL coach Jeff Cassar.
Allen has appeared in eight of nine matches for Real Salt Lake this season, including three starts.
He’ll be available for this Saturday’s match at Chicago, but on May 14 he’ll join the U.S. Under-20 team in Carson, California, before departing for Australia on May 16. He’ll miss five RSL matches while away and teammate Tony Beltran said he’ll certainly be missed.
Beltran’s known for a while that Allen had U.S. National Team potential.
“When he was training with us four years ago I knew he was going to be incredible. He's got it all. He's fast, he's strong, he's technical and I think most importantly he's hungry. He's a very hungry young man and he's got a good head on his shoulders,” said Beltran.
“Sometimes it's tough to deal with that kind of talent when you're that young and you know the pressure, but he continually does the right things here in the locker room and outside of the game and that's why he's getting his chance on the field. Credit to him."
He’s not just getting playing time either, he’s making the most of it.
In just the third game of the season back in March, he scored the late winner as RSL defeated Toronto FC 2-1.
Wednesday was Allen’s first 90-minute performance of his young career, and many more will likely be in store once he returns from the Under-20 World Cup in June.
“He's a hungry kid that when given an opportunity, he grabs a hold of it. I'm not the coach, but he's definitely making the coach have a tough decision when game time comes,” said Rimando. “He's putting in his work on defense and offensively he's getting his chances. He's getting to the line, crossing the ball, he's shooting, he's everything we need in that position."
The United States opens group play against Myanmar on May 30, then faces New Zealand on June 2 and Ukraine on June 5.
If the U.S. advances out of group play, the Round of 16 will be played June 10-11, with the quarterfinals June 14, semifinals June 17 and the championship on June 20.
Real Salt Lake doesn't have a game between June 7 and June 21, so unless the United States makes a deep tournament run Allen should return in time for RSL's match against visiting Kansas City on June 21.
Deseret News prep editor and Real Salt Lake beat writer.